Blake Shelton's fibbing reputation surfaces on The Voice Season 29

Blake Shelton may have left The Voice, but his influence remains. Shelton coached the show for its first 23 seasons and is still remembered for an unusual tactic: bending the truth to win Artists. In the Season 29 premiere, 16-year-old Liv Ciara sang Ariana Grande’s “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” and earned chair turns from Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine.

Ciara had auditioned in Season 28 with Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and received no turns, though Coach Snoop Dogg told her “rejection is redirection.” When Ciara mentioned she was from St. Louis, Levine shouted “Me too!” — a claim that wasn’t true. Clarkson asked, “Do you want a liar for a Coach?” and John Legend quipped, “He’s in Blake’s old chair.

It rubs off.” Ciara ultimately picked Clarkson, who previously coached comeback winner Brynn Cartelli in Season 14. Shelton’s reputation for fibbing shows up elsewhere on the show: during his final season he took a lie detector test that labeled one cheeky answer true.

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